


Aftermarth (One-shots and Short stories)

by Onxy_Black



Category: Splatoon
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, F/F, F/M, Gen, I'm lazy to tag everything, One Shot, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-06
Updated: 2019-09-26
Packaged: 2020-10-10 09:08:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20525498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onxy_Black/pseuds/Onxy_Black
Summary: This work is best read after Dark before the Dawn and Fragments as it contains characters from both DbtD and Fragments. Nonetheless, this work may still be read for as a general stand alone read, though there may be certain confusing plot points (without prior knowledge of events in DbtD and Fragments).This work is a collection of one-shots (1 chapter) and short stories (2~4 chapters). The story timeline may be messed up, please refer to chapter 1 for a guide on how to navigate.The author would be glad to accept requests from the community, but only if it fits the storyline. Thank you for your understanding.The following link is a telegram group, which may be used for suggestions or requests as well. The author humbly requests that it is not misused. Thank you.https://t.me/joinchat/AAAAAEeAvSkrWvpdYfkcJA(The author is aware telegram is banned in certain countries, please leave a comment then.)NOTE: This work is currently under renovation to become multiple works in a series instead. Updates would stop for the time being, please look out of the new series of short stories.





	1. Introduction to timeline chart

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome, one and all, to my third work to Ao3.
> 
> As mentioned before, this work is meant as the third installment to Dark before the Dawn and Fragments. I have created a series for easier navigation between these 3 works. Nonetheless, whether you, the reader, are new or returning; Welcome! I hope you would enjoy this work, do leave feedback below for any chapters, the the work as a whole.
> 
> A few points of interests:  
1\. The author would be very much pleased to try taking requests from you, the community, if it fits within the story.  
2\. There is a over-arcing plot for the one-shots and short stories, so some chapters may hint at future plot points.  
3\. The timeline may be inconsistent, wherein the events of later chapters may happen before the events of ealier chapters.  
4\. Update timing is anywhere between a week to a month. Sorry, the author is in a bit of a rough spot with no end in sight.  
5\. This work is not beta read by a secondly party. Again, due to the situation the author is in. The author would very much be grateful if anyone is willing to help out in this regard.

This chapter is to act as a guide to the timeline used for this work.

For every chapter, the start notes will have a block of text to showcase where the chapter would be in the timeline.

\- - - 

For example:

Dark before the Dawn <Events of DbtD take place. 

Fragments <Events of Fragments take place. 

. <Break in timeline. 

Chapter 1<Event of Chapter 1 take place.

In this case, chapter 1 is a one-shot. However, this work contains short stories as well, which will be multiple chapters. The chapters would be placed on the same line of text, to show that the events take place in continuity.

For example :

Dark before the Dawn <Events of DbtD take place. 

Fragments <Events of Fragments take place. 

. <Break in timeline. 

Chapter 1<Event of Chapter 1 take place. 

. <Break in timeline. 

Chapter 2 - Chapter 4 <Events of Chapter 2 to Chapter 4 takes place.

\- - - 

The author hopes that this guide may serve to help guide the readers for the following chapters. 

The author humbly requests that the readers may leave comments to clarify if not understood. Thank you.

The actual story would begin proper next chapter. The author hopes you would enjoy the ride. 


	2. Reminiscence.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agent 0 has some alone time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline chart:
> 
> Dark before the dawn.  
Fragments.  
.  
Chapter 1  
.
> 
> \---  
Notes:
> 
> Italics represent thought  
\--- represent change in POV, location or time passing

Zero hummed. _It was an old tune, one he held dear. One that brought back both happy, bittersweet, and sad emotions._

His eyes scanned over the many monitors in front of him as he hummed.

_Yet another uneventful day for Inkopolis. The octarians were quiet, most of their domes vacant and deserted. The few that remained weren't a problem, they didn't really show anymore aggression whatsoever._

The reports from the agents on duty were all standard; nothing of interest to report.

And so, another day of peace. It had been close to 2 months since the defeat of DJ Octavio at the hands of Agent 4. While all that had been going down, Zero was busy cleaning up Kamabo alongside Agent 3, with them finishing up way faster than initially expected _(mostly thanks to how fast Three was). _

_That was good._

So now he was just wrapping everything up, ensuring there were no resurgences from any one enemy.

However, with a good month of monitoring done, he, as well as the Captain, were pretty certain there was no need to be active 24/7 anymore.

Today would be the last day of round the clock monitoring, after this the agents would return to standby status, to be called upon only in emergencies.

_Well, he was mostly done here, time to pack up._

Yet he just sat there, staring at the screens. Typing in commands onto the monitors, he found himself bringing up his personal files to view. It was always fun to look through some good memories and unwind, after all.

He scrolled through his files and photos, as he continued humming. _Oh, what a beautiful tune, yet the emotions brought forth were that of sadness and regret. _

_Hmm. Better not dwell too much on the past now._ Zero sighed, stopping the humming, choosing to focus on the photos and files instead of mindlessly passing them one after another.

_Ah, this was taken of Agent 3 celebrating her victory over DJ Octavio the first time._ Three was in a rather uncharacteristically Three pose, with her tongue out cheekily and sticking a victory pose with Captain Cuttlefish besides her.

Zero smiled fondly. _That was 2 years plus ago._ He had observed the fight between Agent 3 and DJ Octavio, and had taken the photo from a distance after Three won. _Discreetly, of course._ _For the memories. Heh._ _He felt old._

Swiping, he continued on through his files and photos.

_Oh? Another interesting one._ This wasn’t a photo, instead was a file document. The original file was deleted, but as long as it was available once, there wasn't a way to really stop Zero from getting his hands on it.

Zero smile widened. The document may seem innocent, but the contents were anything but.

They were lyrics. Lyrics of a song never meant to be sung or released. The lyrics were of a cheesy love song, and continued some rather... mature and suggestive parts. _It was written by Callie, and meant for Maire to sing as part of a punishment game after she refused a dare. Said dare was... nevermind. _

Zero blushed slightly, he was acting secret guardian to the cousins _(at Craig's request) _when they began their truth of dare game. Suffice to say, he was rather surprised at just how much Callie, at a tender age of 10, knew about some rather_... ambiguous things._

Anyways, back to the song. Maire had eventually conceded, and was recorded by her cousin, with a promise it would be deleted immediately.

It was. But not before the particular recording was copied to Zero's device via wireless hacking. He didn't know why he did that, he actually felt a little bad about that particular incident. The file had then been put under immerse online security and firewalls and stowed away in his files.

Looking at it now, he was once again brought down memory road. He sighed, and continued scrolling. _He really felt old now._

"..." _Ah._

Zero pulsed his lips. _He had gone too far back._

A photo. A photo of himself, dressed in a business suit and pants, holding an award. The him in the photo looked bored, as if the award meant nothing. But it wasn't just him in the photo. There were two more inklings behind. A male and a female.

Zero snapped his head down and typed in commands to exit.

_No. He didn't quite want that now._

"..." Zero snarled. Anger was bubbling up inside of him. _No. He had to control it._

His hands were shaking. He drew a breath. And another. And another.

_"Hey... hey. Its ok now. Its ok now..." _

It was a beautiful voice. It calmed him. It reached out to him. Even now, years apart, the voice still echoed softly in his ears, smoothing him. Phantom sound breathed around him, as he held dear to these precious few seconds.

Zero took another breath. Spinets of his past was flowing through cracks opened by looking at his old photos. _He really shouldn't have done that. Really shouldn't. _

_"We'll be waiting, forevermore." _

_Ah. No. No, don't go. Come back. _

The voice was fading now. He could feel the phantom tingling sensation leaving him.

He snapped his head up, tears flowing freely as he looked around for anything, anysquid. But there was nothing. He was still in his lab. His equipment was around him, there was nothing else. The feeling and voice were gone. He was alone, yet again.

Zero sighed. _Yet again. Perhaps he was truly losing his mind. Feeling, and seeing things that weren't there. Ok, that was definitely quite a red flag. Maybe he really should consider the therapy class with Maire. _

_Might as well get to it, while he was still in the mood. _

Getting up, he cleaned himself up, as he grabbed his communicator. Typing, he began composing a message to Marie.

_Somehow, he had a bad feeling about this. But then again, he couldn't quite explain his situation to just any other therapist out there. Since Marie was a fellow agent, it kind of worked out? Not that he would say everything, but it was better than doing nothing now, right? Well, never say he didn't try now._

_Dammit all,_ Zero thought, as he finished his message, and pressed send.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmm. So returning readers may find something new about this work.
> 
> First off, I'm going to try use the chapter summary.  
Second off, word count is going to be extremely inconsistent. (That's more of a heads up, actually)  
Third off, I changed my written style, again, based off feedback from my previous two works. (for the better, I hope).
> 
> Right, and my am I glad to be back. After Fragments ended, I had a bit over a week of a break, but now I'm back with this work. As for Agent 0's backstory ... well ... maybe next time, or perhaps concurrently with this work. But update timings are going to be shit.
> 
> Anyways, onto the chapter itself.
> 
> I'm really using these one-shots to try expend the characters even more, and add more world-building and lore to this universe of mine. This 'lore' was actually always planned to be (I'm not forcing it in), but I just never wrote it before (since it wouldn't really fit in previous stories).
> 
> So yea, Zero being an information specialist would have quite abit of 'dirt' on his fellow agents. I wonder if it would ever get to be used ... hmmm. (Nah it definitely would be, this is just set up). 
> 
> There's also bits of Zero's past sprinkled in there, I hope it wasn't too distracting. But yes, I would get around to that eventually.
> 
> And finally, the 'therapy' session is also being set up, which would appear later onwards in the work. Stay tuned.
> 
> And there we have it. To end off, There's something I absolutely have to say. I have no idea to to write one-shots, so I'm not quite sure if I'm doing this right or wrong. Please leave feedback on the chapter or work or idea as a whole in the comments below. Else, the telegram group is available for more 'discreet' feedback. Thank you.
> 
> Until next time,  
Stay Fresh!


	3. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marina has more or less adjusted to the surface, but an old nightmare returns to haunt her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note:  
This chapter contains graphic description of volience.  
\---
> 
> Timeline chart:
> 
> Dark before the dawn.  
Chapter 2  
Fragments.  
.  
Chapter 1  
. 
> 
> \---  
Notes:
> 
> Italics represent thought.  
\--- represent change in POV, location, or time passing.

Marina was a blessed octoling. Truly. She had came to surface with nothing but what she wore. She was lost and confused, alone in a foreign land. Then she met her perfect other half, Pearl Houzuki.

They had kicked it off instantly, overcoming the barriers between their species. _Well, Pearl didn't exactly know she was an octoling, and she didn't exactly tell her. But, they got along well._

Pearl was wonderful, past their near instantaneous friendship, there was music. Marina had nearly chocked Pearl in a bear hug when she mentioned she did some music. Then Pearl suggested they start a band, and Marina lost it. She didn't know how Pearl survived that particular incident, though thinking back on it, it was somewhat embarrassing.

_She had hugged a total stranger (mostly) and nearly killed the poor girl. Well, Pearl seemed good after catching her breath afterwards, mumbling something and staring at her chest, before looking down at herself. Pearl was weird, in her own way. _

Anyways, they had started a band, her ultimate dream coming true. But that wasn't all, when Pearl found out she was new to the city, she had insisted Marina stay at her place. Marina hadn't quite gotten much of inkling language yet, and was just kind of just dragged along.

Now, of course, she had her own apartment. But back in the days, the duo had stayed in the same house _(well actually more like mansion then house)._ They had spent the day chatting _(Pearl teaching Marina inkling),_ or sharing musical tastes. Marina had only 1 song to share, an old tune she treasured with her life. Pearl, well, had a literal library of songs.

_Oh, how they had spent their days then, listening to music, talking about themselves, and finally actually composing music for their band career. _

'Off the Hook'

That was the name they had eventually settled upon, with a promise to each other to always stay fresh _(whatever that meant, Marina didn't quite get it, yet kind of got it at the same time)._

_And the whole time? Marina stayed under the care of Pearl. Food, housing, money, Cod was there money, were all accounted for. _

Blessed. Marina was truly blessed.

So she had vowed to one day pass on the favour to someone else. And of course, somehow pay back Pearl. In terms of monetary amount, it was nigh impossible, though Pearl had repeatedly told her that it was fine, and that their friendship was more important than anything else.

Friendship then. She would damn well be the best friend and companion she could be. That was a promise she made to herself, one that she continued to hold true till now.

\---

Marina lay in bed. Pearl was besides her, on the sea of comforters and plush pillows. _It was yet another tiring day over, they had finished their usual newscasting, checked in with the agents, and took care of Eight's needs. Now, at last, they could rest. _

Marina had an actual apartment, though mostly on weekdays such as today, she would find herself crashing at Pearl's place.

She had no qualms sharing a bed, and had just gone along with the flow when Pearl suggested it._ Somehow it seemed Pearl had wanted to suggest that for a long time, but never quite did before. Well, whatever. She trusted Pearl fully, and was perfectly comfortable sleeping with her._

She looked over to her partner, and met her eyes.

Pearl smiled back, though it was obvious she was rather tired too.

Marina smiled softly, before dropping her head down, and rapidly fell into sleep.

\---

_Red eyes in the air. _

_Purple and black ink on the ground. _

_Screaming echoed, then was silenced. _

_The red eyes were ahead. They stared at her. _

_Then they were blocked. A figure moved in front of her, shielding her with her body. Their hands were spread out, as they stood defiantly in front of the red eyes. The figure was shaking. They too, were afraid. _

_The red eyes paused for a moment, before they moved. _

_The figure fell, screaming. Yet more purple ink coated the ground. _

_The figure lay on their side. Their right side was gone. Their face was cleaved off. And the figure looked at her with their one remaining eye. _

_The figure was scrunched up in pain. Their body was spasming. And the figure looked at her, tears flowing from her left eye. _

_'I'm sorry. Goodbye.' _

_The figure tried to smile. Then the red eyes stabbed down hard, into the figure. _

_They gasped, eye opening wide, before air left their lungs, and their eye drooped downwards. The figure had tensed for a moment, but now was deflating, no longer offering any resistance. _

_Purple ink was gushing out. It was coating her feet. It was everywhere. _

_And now, the red eyes looked at her. She was next. She knew that. _

_The red eyes drew closer, and closer, and closer. _

Marina woke up. There was no fanfare, no scream of fear, nothing. She simply woke up.

_A nightmare, again. The same nightmare, that plagued her as a child till now. It had been a while since she had it, yet somehow it was back._

_It always went the same way, and ended the same way. Her memories simply cut off at that point. She suspected she must have fainted. How she survived though, she didn't know. _

Whether this whole thing was even real, she didn't know either. Her memories were hazy, and she had a hard time remembering anything before her 10th birthday.

_Yet whenever the nightmare came, she suddenly could. Could see herself in that lab, could feel the fear she gone through._

But now, once more, her memories were being suppressed. No matter how much she tried to hold on to them, they were already slipping. Thoughts that were fresh in her mind just seconds ago were slipping away into the depths of her mind.

At this stage all she knew was that she had a nightmare and woke up due to it. The contents were already lost to her. All she remembered was that she really didn't like the colour red.

"Reena."

Pearl's voice caught her attention, and she turned to look.

Pearl was awake, sitting up and looking at her.

"Reena. Are you ok? You're shaking real bad." Pearl frowned in the faint moon light, as she scooted over the pillows to her side.

"Hey, Reena. It's ok. It's ok now. I'm here." Pearl smiled, as she took her hand in hers, before venturing, "Is it nightmares? From... before you came to the surface?"

Marina considered for a moment. _Technically, yes? Though she couldn't quite remember what had happened, it was definitely before she escaped to the surface. _

Marina nodded, once.

"I....see. Hey, its ok, Reena. You're safe now. Nothing's going get you. I'll protect you," Pearl continued, squeezing her hand.

Marina looked at Pearl. And took a breath, and nodded once more, before smiling weakly.

"Thank you, Pearl. I'm... Ok now. Thank you."

"Hmm. Well, that's good then. You know you can always talk to me about this kinda stuff, yeah? Of course, only if you want to, at your timing, kay?" Pearl said.

Marina bit her lip. _Pearl truly was concerned, yet wasn't pushing her for anything. It was the same with the reveal of her being an octoling. Pearl had taken it in stride, never blaming her or even getting angry that she hid this from her. _

"Pearlie," Marina called out to Pearl, who was already heading back to her spot.

"Yeah?" Pearl responded as she turned.

"Erm. May I sleep holding you?" Marina whispered softly. They were already on the same bed, but what Marina really wanted now was someone to hold.

"..." Pearl seemed slightly shocked, before she quickly corrected herself, "Oh! Sure thing, Reena. I'll come over."

Pearl turned fully, and scooted back, parting pillows for a space for her small statue to fit.

After some adjusting, they settled on a comfortable position, with Marina grasping Pearl's hand lightly. Side by side, they drifted off to sleep once more.

As she felt the lull of sleep taking hold once more, Marina turned drowsily to face Pearl, watching through half closed eyes as Pearl fell back to sleep.

_Oh. She was truly blessed. _

"Thank you, Pearlie," she mumbled, before dozing off herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo I actually titled a chapter of fragments similarly as 'Nightmares'. Rigghhht. I'm really running out of ideas, yea?
> 
> So I touch a tad on how Marina actually met Pearl, well, I just went with the canon version, though didn't really expend on it. I mean, its not the focus point of the chapter after all. That said, there are a few Pearl & Marina moments. I'm not quite sure if its going to be Pearlina, buuut. Maybe. I'm a really great fan of Pearlina, but I'm really not so sure about writing actual relationships. Eh. 
> 
> Anyways. Fun fact: What did Pearl mumble? "Damn boobs" is the correct answer.
> 
> Right, onto the nightmare. Yeah! I really liked writing this portion, erm, well, maybe I'm a tad of a sadist. But yea! So Marina had a rather troubled past, which, again, I would touch on in the future. This chapter is simply about Marina having a nightmare, and the deepening relationship between Marina and Pearl. I just love writing these two.
> 
> So! Next chapter is going to be the first short story, titled 'Crescent Moon', go figure. I promise its not dark at all, given that this and the previous chapter had some dark elements. So the short story would be a couple of chapter long, as I introduce a couple of new characters, I hope you will like them!
> 
> Please do leave feedback on the chapter or work as a whole if any! I would do my best to reply to every comment, seriously! You have no idea just how much it means to receive even a single comment! (Unless its just hate, but then again, I haven't yet.) So yea! you get the gist of it. I hope.
> 
> Until next time,  
Stay Fresh!


	4. Crescent Moon I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet Levy of Team Crescent Moon!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline chart:
> 
> Dark before the dawn.  
Chapter 2  
Fragments.  
.  
Chapter 1  
Chapter 3  
. 
> 
> Notes:  
Italics represent thought  
\--- represent change in POV, location, or time passing.

Soft music floated through the dimly lit apartment. The binds were drawn closed, sunlight flickering through the gaps and penetrating the darkness.

"Mmm" the figure on the bed stirred.

The figure stretched, body curving like a feline.

Eyes fluttered opened, as the figure yawned once, before pushing herself up.

She stared blearily forwards for a second, before shivering. Without the protection of her blankets and the warmth of her heated mattress, she was cold. It didn't particularly help that she was barely clothed.

_Time to fix that._ The figure stretched again, letting out a sigh of pleasure as her muscles tensed and relaxed.

She got up, toes sinking into her thick wool carpeted floor. Making her way towards her wardrobe, she tossed open its doors to be greeted by her numerous outfits.

"Hmm," she hummed in thought, crawling at her lower lip with her fingers.

Cocking her head, she reached out and pulled a set of turfing gear out, before beginning to dress herself. A pair of tinted shades and a quick tentacle hairstyling completed her look for the day.

She smiled as she checked herself out in the mirror. She had long purple tentacles which could reach her knees, though now they were binded in a single ponytail behind her head. Her reflection smirked playfully. _Now that was one classy squid. _

Swiping her squidphone from her desk, she found the time to be a little past noon. She was due for a meet up with her teammates at 1.30pm for a late lunch before some practice, so she was perfectly on time then.

She smiled again as she remembered the main event for today. _Yes, the meet up with her teammates. And they were finally going to burst the bubble. The secret would be out. _

"Pop!" she smacked her lips. Just the thought of the reveal was sending shivers of anticipation down her spine.

Unlocking her phone, she opened the team chat.

\---

GodmodeLevi is online. <12.16>

Artybabe: Oh look who's finally up. <12.17>

Artybabe: Good afternoon princess. <12.17>

GodmodeLevi: Heyy. Its not THAT late. <12.17>

GodmodeLevi: At least not as late as the reveal of a certain something... <12.17>

Artybabe: Ahhhh. Yes of course, a certain something... <12.18>

She44y: HEY. <12.20>

She44y: IT'S GETTING OLD. <12.20>

She44y: Also. Afternoon Levy. <12.21>

Chilldude: Ha! Relax~ a certain something would be revealed soon... <12.21>

Chilldude: Afternoon~ Levy my dear. <12.22>

GodmodeLevi: Woah. You are all up so early... <12.22>

Artybabe: Me and Mr Chill here got classes, remember? <12.24>

Chilldude: Screw physics. <12.25>

Artybabe: lol <12.25>

GodmodeLevi: Right. <12.26>

GodmodeLevi: Hey Shelly what's your excuse, huh?!? <12.27>

GodmodeLevi: jkjk <12.27>

She44y: Work. <12.27>

Chilldude: YOU WORK??? <12.28>

Chilldude: WOAH GIRL. I DID NOT KNOW THAT. <12.28>

Artybabe: Erm. Dude. She mentioned it before. <12.30>

Artybabe: Like. Last few weeks or so? You know, just about when something just so happened to appear as well... <12.31>

She44y: Oh come on. Screw you guys, you better tell me later. <12.31>

She44y: Right. Anyways. <12.32>

She44y: Levy. We were discussing pushing up the meeting later to 1pm instead, can you make it? <12.33>

She44y: Sorry. But a CERTAIN someone is toooo hungry to wait. <12.33>

GodmodeLevi: Oh. Sure, I'm ready already, traveling would take me around 20minutes. So maybe just a tad late? <12.33>

GodmodeLevi: Oh sure. A CERTAIN someone huh? <12.34>

Chilldude: HEY. I never said that ^^ <12.34>

Artybabe: Busted <12.34>

GodmodeLevi: Called it. <12.35>

She44y: Right. Back on track yea? So 1pm, Inkopolis Square. <12.35>

Chilldude: Sureee. But I didn't say that ^^^^ OK? <12.36>

Artybabe: ok. Seeyall later <12.36>

Artybabe is offline.

GodmodeLevi: mm. Later then. <12.37>

Chilldude is offline.

GodmodeLevi is offline.

\---

The girl, or rather, Levy as she was known, shut off her phone.

Getting up, Levy stuffed her phone into her sling bag, along with several items before exiting her apartment.

Levy locked up, before heading out into the city. She would make for the city train service, which would bring her to Inkopolis Square.

Fishing her headphones out of her bag, she hooked them over her head, and scrolled through her phone for the freshest beats on the squidnet.

_Hmm. Something fresh, of course. But what?_ She was feeling something good old classic. _Oh!_

_'Off the Hook "Now or Never" feat. Squid Sisters' _

_Perfection. _The Squid Sisters and Off the Hook were 2 of the best bands Levy ever heard. Having a song featuring both of them was definitely going to be fresh as heck!

Levy selected the song, putting away her phone as the familiar beats began to play.

"Naaaaa, na na na na naaaa!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter for the introduction to Team Crescent Moon, focusing on our first member, Levy! Well, you squids should already know Shelly, thought 'Artybabe' and 'Chilldude' would be introduced in chapters to come. Im going to try get better character introduction and development on these 4 squids, hope I do it right. 
> 
> Next few chapters are going to be on Crescent Moon, with the whole 'short story' about 4 chapter longs? maybe? but after that it would be back to a couple of one-shots again. Do let me know any feedback on the story flow or planning up to now.
> 
> 'Levy' is a reference to Levy McGarden of the manga 'Fairy tail'. It was one of the manga the author grew up with. 
> 
> Levy's online name of 'GodmodeLevi' is a reference to Levi Ackermann of 'Shingeki no kyojin' (Attack on titan). 
> 
> And finally Shelly's online name of 'She44y' is a reference to her being agent 4 (but then again it was obvious, right?). The not so obvious part is that there's two '4's, which make '8'. Shelly and Eight are good friends. heh. 
> 
> The Now or Never song (feat. Squid Sisters) was actually sung at one of OtH's concerts in Japan (Polymanga?), but lets pretend it exist in-universe in this case.
> 
> Erm. do let me know if the references are actually annoying, cause well, the author just love to throw these type of little stuff around. Also, if there's any copyright infringement, please let me know.
> 
> So ya. Its a short chapter, but I didnt want to drag it, or introduce more characters, so lets leave it at that. How did your find this chapter? I didnt go super deep into Levy as a character, but just had the chapter centred about her POV instead. is it weird? Well, feedback would always be appreciated. I would try to reply to ever comment!
> 
> Until next time,  
Stay Fresh!


	5. Crescent Moon II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The remaining members of Crescent Moon are introduced, and they go for lunch, where Shelly happens to meet a certain someone...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Announcement!
> 
> Sooo I recently watched the anime film 'Tenki no Ko' (Weathering with you), another movie from Makato Shinkai (-San). And I absolutely fell in love with it, much like the 2016 hit 'Kimi no na wa' (Your Name), also by Shinkai-san. 
> 
> That and it had been a while since any new Splatoon content, given that Splatoon 2 kinda ended with the final fest. 
> 
> Finally, I'm actually kinda in quite a situation now, real life wise. A situation with seemingly no end in sight. And it's starting to get worse. So yea, I hardly have any free time, or spirit to write anymore. I just don't feel the joy as much as before anymore. 
> 
> Bottom line? Erm, I'm kinda losing interest in Splatoon. So there it is, this fic will still continue, but I'm running out of inspiration to write. It may not be good publicity to say something like that, but I rather be honest and upfront. 
> 
> Yea. Sorry, I guess. Its not like I'm abandoning this fic, I'm not, just updates may be slower. At least till my interest or passion for Splatoon is back. For now, on with the show, nonetheless. 
> 
> \---
> 
> Timeline chart:
> 
> Dark before the dawn.  
Chapter 2  
Fragments.  
.  
Chapter 1  
Chapter 3, Chapter 4  
. 
> 
> Notes:
> 
> Italics represent thought.  
\--- represent change in POV, location, or time passing.

"We're late! It's all your fault!" an inkling boy shouted at his counterpart as he dashed through the streets of Inkopolis.

"Less shouting and more running. Shelly going to kill us!" the other inkling boy replied.

He was a smidge taller than the first boy, but was slowed down by the slice of cake balanced in his hands.

The first boy was known as Arutemisu, or Art, as his friends called him. The second was known as Taito. Both were members of the ranked team Crescent Moon, and were, in fact, late for their 1pm meeting.

"Dammit. Someone had to stop for cake now, huh?!? Couldn't just wait for lunch?!" Art half turned and screamed at Taito.

"Less shouting and more runni-- No! Shit!" Taito replied, halfway through bringing a mouthful of cake to his mouth when his other hand slipped, and the entire cake splatted unto the ground.

"Leave it!" Art paused, only to grab Taito and drag him forwards.

"Bu... But my cake..." Taito sputtered while he stuffed the one mouthful of cake into his mouth.

"Leave it!" Art continued, finally heaving a sigh of relief as he felt Taito begin to follow him.

_Still. They were late, again. Even after they explicitly said they wouldn't be. Dammit. _

_Shelly was going to scold them. _

\---

Shelly, leader of the team Crescent Moon stood alongside her teammate Levy.

The time read 1.12pm.

_Art and Taito were late. Again. How they managed to keep turning up late was a wonder. Every time it was a different excuse._

Shelly exchanged a look with Levy, who simply shook her head.

_Nothing in the group chat. And no sight of their two remaining teammates._

_Well, it wasn't the first time. Nonetheless, it was really annoying that the duo were always late._

A typical team would have had such members expelled already, but Crescent Moon was no typical team. The four of them had more or less grown up together, so knew each other little quirks.

Shelly knew Art and Taito since her childhood in the countryside. _The two boys were cousins, several times removed, if she remembered correctly. The duo had moved to the city for their studies a couple of years back, and Shelly fell out of touch with them for a bit. After she moved to the city last year, she had met up with them again, plus one this time. Art and Taito introduced her to Levy, a senior and friend they made in the university. They had then revealed that they were searching for a fourth member for a splatoon team._

_She had joined with them, and one thing led to another, ending up with her becoming the official leader. She knew Levy the least, then, but still had become fast friends with her. The four of them trusted each other, and put up with each other little errors and problems. Perhaps the whole thing about Art and Taito being always late was annoying, but just a month or so ago, Shelly herself had disappeared with a rather vague explanation on 'work' . _The entire team had poked into it a bit, but let off when it was clear Shelly didn't want to say.

_So they put up with each other. And their bonds would become stronger over this._ At least, that's what Levy said, some physiological shit from the major she was taking that Shelly wouldn't understand.

"Heyy. Babes! I'm herrrre!" a voice gasped out, drawing the two girls’ attention.

Taito was waving at them, attempting a smile in greeting, but failing. _Mostly due to being out of breath, and having a large smear of... cake? across his front shirt and the majority of his face. _

Art stood besides him, panting himself.

"Sorry we're late, again. Taito wanted to get some cake." Art wheezed out, waving slightly guiltily in greeting.

Shelly shook her head, before bursting out in laughter. Levy soon joined in too, leaving the two males rather confused.

"Sorry. It's just... your excuses every time ... nevermind. Just go clean up. Then let's get lunch." Shelly said, after controlling herself.

"Right.. Ok" the two mumbled in confusion, before heading for a public restroom.

Shelly watched then go, shaking her head again.

She exchanged another look with Levy, before the two girls began a second round of giggling.

\---

The time read 1.24pm when they were ready. With a collective nod, they headed for lunch.

Taito didn't want anything to do with western, but since he was late, his opinion didn't count.

Art and Levy didn't particularly mind, and neither did Shelly, so of course they went to a western place, just for Taito.

"Hello! Table for four please!" Shelly announced to the waiter before Taito could attempt to get them somewhere else.

"Oh sure! Right this way, miss!" a female waiter greeted her with a bright smile, before turning and beginning to lead them to a table.

_Hah. No escape now, Taito._ Shelly smirked, ignoring the fake groans of protest from behind her as Taito was dragged along.

The waitress's long tentacles swung in front of her, twirling as she turned and presented to them their table of four.

Shelly and the others sat down normally. Taito made a giant exaggerated show of clutching his chest and choking before Levy kicked him and he sat down with a whimper.

The menus was held in the waitress's hand, and covered the majority of her face, as she bowed slightly, presenting the menus to them, keeping a single copy over her face.

_Huh._ Shelly pondered as she lifted up the menu, attempting a look at the waitress face.

She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something was familiar about the waitress.

_Hmm. _

_Oh? Oh... Heh. Could it be?_ Shelly smiled slowly. _Yes, it could be... Time for a little test._

Shelly flipped the menu, before ordering, "We will have three sides of chicken wings done three ways, as well as three soups of the day, and three glasses of water to start us off, thank you."

The waitress didn't move at all, before turning slightly and beginning to jot down her order, while somehow keeping the menu over her face.

_Hmmm. Mmm. Heh._

Shelly ignored the protests of Taito that they were ordering for only three people as she watched the waitress like a hawk as she left their table.

"Oh sure. Silly me. I only ordered Three portions." Shelly drawled, raising her voice a tad at the word 'Three'.

The waitress flinched, before hastily making into the kitchen.

_Ah ha. Got ya. _Shelly allowed her smirk to come full force. _She was 90% certain now. She knew the waitress. It was her._

"Plotting something?" Levy quipped from across her, as she raised her hand to call another waiter to make a proper order this time.

"Oh. Nothing like that. Just found some rather interesting information." Shelly smiled as she returned her gaze to her teammates.

Art was trying to pacify Taito, who was now fake sulking. Fake sulking because it was fairly obvious that he was faking it.

"Come on Taito, I never said I wasn't ordering for you," Shelly began, but received a huff in response.

_Bah. Fine._

"Fine. You can, like, choose where we eat next time, regardless," Shelly said, as she rolled her eyes_. It was the answer Taito wanted, she knew that, he knew that. _

Immediately Taito sat up, no longer 'sulking'.

"Oh gee. Thanks. Sure." he laughed, as he stretched his hands above his head.

\---

The rest of the lunch was uneventful, and they exited the food place, but not before Shelly had to urge to rub in her little victory over the waitress again.

"Thank you! Here's a tip for three!" she raised her voice just a tad louder than necessary, as she transferred a rather generous amount of credits into the tip box, about three times the usual amount, hence a tip for three people. _Though, her statement could well be interpreted differently as well._

_Heh._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh ho! I wonder just who the 'mysterious' waitress is now, hmm? 
> 
> Well, yea. I tried adding a bit of humour and fluff. I mean, come on, I can't be writing dark stuff forever (even though I like too.)
> 
> But right, We meet Art and Taito in this chapter, its actually my first time writing boys. (Zero doesn't count, for one he's older, and for two, he was always meant to be more feminine.) I hope I captured the youthful and playful spirit, cause thats what I'm aiming for. Do leave feedback if any.
> 
> 'Arutemisu' is the Japanese translation of 'Artemis', the greek godness of hunt. Its a reference to... yea, the novel series Artemis Fowl. Ok, I really like that series, it has the most amount of references in all my works.
> 
> Other than all that, nothing much, but we're moving onto the 'big reveal' soon. After that, I would wrap up Crescent Moon, and move back to one-shots. well, though now that I think about it, Crescent Moon has 4 members, so having a 4 chapter 'short story' is quite apt.
> 
> Anyways. Feedback is appreciated and loved. I would try to reply to every comment. Also, do remember I am taking requests (if it fits the story), so if you have an idea, drop it in the comments, or telegram (if you can), and I'll take a look. Thanks!
> 
> Until next time,  
Stay Fresh!


	6. Crescent Moon III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shelly finally finds out about the SiegeSlammer from her teammates, and meets another familiar face along the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline chart:
> 
> Dark before the dawn.  
Chapter 2  
Fragments.  
.  
Chapter 1  
Chapter 3 - Chapter 5  
. 
> 
> Notes:
> 
> Italics represent thought.  
\--- represent change in location, POV, or time passing.

"So, there's a new weapon in town. It’s called the SiegeSlammer," Art said.

_It was a rather simple sentence. Nothing special now, right?_ Shelly smiled, and nodded.

"Ahaha. Come on princess, quite a reveal right...?" Art continued, trying to incite some response from Shelly.

Shelly continued smiling, giving her team a look.

"Ahaha... Ooook right.... Erm." Taito began, then shuttered before quickly breaking off eye contact with her.

"Come on, it's a joke, right? Right?" Levy pipped up.

Shelly turned to face her, and SMILED.

It was a scary smile.

"Show me." Shelly spoke. A simple sentence, a request, a demand.

"AYE MADAM!" The three of them shouted, before turning for Ammo knights.

The store was crowded, as usual, but Shelly simply cut through the crowd effortlessly, making for the counter. Her teammates followed behind, exchanging nervous looks. _Maybe they kept this particular secret a tad too long, past the stage where it was funny..._

"Sheldon. Good afternoon." Shelly greeted the shopkeeper over the counter.

The horseshoe crab was facing away from them, and gave a little start at the calling of his name.

He finished up his conversation with another customer, before turning.

"Oh my! If it isn't Shelly and the rest of Crescent Moon! What an occasion! It's has been forever since I saw your together. Well, what can I help you with today?" Sheldon chattered, addressing the group of four. Yet his eyes were focused solely on Shelly, and as they made contact, both members of the NSS gave an almost unnoticeable nod to each other.

"Ah, you see now, my wonderful teammates here seemed to have forgotten to tell me a particular piece of information. Particular that there was a new weapon released a few weeks ago? When I was... occupied." Shelly words were sickly sweet, dripping with sarcasm as she fixed her teammates with another look.

"I see! The SiegeSlammer now, yes? It was released early at the request of its designer! There are positives and negatives, though perhaps you could find a balance to it yourself," Sheldon paused, making a subtle gesture to Shelly before continuing, "I can get you a sample to try it out? Or would you like to purchase it immediately? "

Shelly tapped her chin, pretending to consider, while her mind fitted the pieces of speech that Sheldon just said together.

_They had a double meaning. 'Positives' and 'Negatives', a 'Balance', the 'Designer'. _

"..." Shelly raised her eyebrows slightly as she got it_. Balance between positive and negative. The middle between positive and negative. Zero. The designer. Agent 0 was the designer. Huh. Interesting. _

"I'll be purchasing it straight away. Can I use the testing area to try it out?" Shelly said as she held out her card for payment.

"Certainly. You and your team are free to use... booth 5," Sheldon tapped at his monitor, before proceeding with his explanation, "The SiegeSlammer is really special. It is able to toggle between 2 modes, far range and close range. I'll let you try it out inside the area, but do be informed that it doesn’t come with any subs and just Ink beacon as a special. Well, it really is damaging though."

Shelly nodded absently as she took her card back, before heading for the back where the training booths were, giving her thanks to Sheldon as she passed.

Her teammates quietly followed, looking for all the world like a bunch of children about to get their medicine.

\---

"Right. So like, I'm going to be upfront. I'm not mad, ok? Cause, I have been MIA for the past few weeks anyways. Let's all just put everything behind us? Shall we get some practice, then maybe a match tomorrow or something?" Shelly addressed her team, once they were in the privacy of the training booth.

"Ptff. Come on, we knew that. Of course we did." Taito laughed, the first to break the silence, waving his hand nonchalantly. 

Art shook his head, pausing before replying, "If you say so, but yeah. Sorry I guess? We're good. We're good."

"Same. Our bad. But yup, let's move on. We can give you some tips on usage of the SS." Levy spoke up, relaxing her pose.

Shelly laughed a little, before turning and walking over to the weapon rack. Her new purchase was sitting there, along with rental weapons currently in the meta, for training.

The SiegeSlammer kind of resembled an inkstrike in shape, held over the shoulder. The difference was a bulkier front, and a protruding pull push level from the side.

Shelly picked up the SiegeSlammer, attaching it to an ink tank, and cocking it. Every weapon came with a detailed instructional guide, but Shelly was a strong believer of practical learning.

Seeing no objection from her teammates, she took rough aim, and fired at the dummy targets.

A blast of ink shot straight out forwards, striking the target and exploding in a blast.

The weapon clicked, and began reloading. Keeping mental count, Shelly found it to take a total of 3 seconds before it beeped to signal that it was ready to fire again.

_Hmm. That was slow. But Cod was it long ranged and powerful. _

"Princess! Try pulling the level, that changes it to long range!" Art hollered from across the room.

Shelly raised her eyebrows in surprise._ This mode was the 'close range mode'? _

Following the advice, she reached up and pulled the level, and immediately the weapon began shifting, sliding from a horizontal position to a more tilted position. Still clasped onto her shoulder, various pieces began moving, and re-interlocking with each other, until the entire weapon looked different, now at a 60 degrees position from the ground.

Her trigger was now a joystick of sorts, allowing her to move it around. A screen flipped out from the weapon, giving a map of the training area, target dummies and all, with a red dot to show her position, 3 grey dots for her teammates, and a red circle surrounding her dot.

Moving her trigger joystick, she found a blue circle to appear and move along with her trigger joystick movement.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what it meant. _It looked like the screen was showing the range of the weapon, as well as the positions of the 'players' on the field. The blue circle was the target to which the shots would be fired too._

Shelly grinned. _This seemed fun._

She squeezed the joystick, and felt the weapon rumble, before a shot was discharged, flying and arcing through the air, before slamming down at the destinated position.

The weapon rumbled again, as it reloaded.

_Hmm. 3 seconds to reload, again, but time was needed for the fired shot to reach its destination too. So, it seemed this weapon was really meant to be a far range to extremely far range type of weapon, able to dish out powerful blasts from over obstacles, just like a siege weapon. That was the far range mode, the close range mode was to be more for close up defence, since the arcing shots would be nigh useless at close quarters. _

_Still, the reloading time meant that the SiegeSlammer was a backliner, and required protection, or support to excel in a game. Mmm._ _The team composition definitely needed some testing and practice to have it include the SiegeSlammer._

"Well? How's it?" Levy asked, as the three of her teammates walked over.

Shelly gave her her quick analysis of the weapon.

Levy nodded.

Shelly noted she, as well as the others, are armed with their preferred weapons of choice.

_A roller for Taito. An airsoft sprayer for Levy. A splattershot for Art. _

"Wanna go a few rounds? Tag team, two vs two," Levy continued.

"Sure. Team on time vs team late?" Shelly suggested as she pulled the level of the SiegeSlammer to change it back to the 'close range mode'.

"Oh? You’re on! I ain't going to lose!" Taito screamed, as he pointed his roller straight at Shelly and Levy.

Art sighed behind him, rolling his eyes.

"I'm good, either way. Go easy on me, princess, " Art said, bringing his splattershot into a ready position.

"Ha! We'll beat you sorry late comers, " Levy declared, as she took her side, facing the other 'team'.

Shelly grinned fiercely; _this was going to be good practice._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha. Right, so I decided to skip alot of dialogue about the reveal of the 'SS' to Shelly for a couple of reasons.  
1\. I suck at writing dialogue.  
2\. I don't like writing too much dialogue.  
3\. I didn't feel like writing alot of dialogue.
> 
> ...
> 
> Erm. Right, anyways I felt it may have been too boring to just have 4 squids going back and forth about a rather simple topic, and not as interesting. Instead, I opted for a shorter reveal and the introduction of Sheldon. Along with him, some little references to the NSS between him and Shelly. I felt that was more enjoyable to read.
> 
> In case you don't get the 'code' between Sheldon and Shelly. The number '0' is balanced right between the positive and negative. So Sheldon was discreetly telling Shelly that the number '0' had something to do with the 'designer'. Shelly's a smart squid, 2 and -2 make 0. heh. But yea, just a little tiny reference to Agent 0 and to have Shelly know about it.
> 
> Unto the SiegeSlammer and the weapon/subs choices. Erm, I don't play Splatoon, so I don't really know much about the different weapon types. (and by extension, the different gear and power ups, hence why my description of clothing is usually quite generic.) I'm not quite sure if a weapon like the SiegeSlammer is even possible in-game, but I think I gave it both positives and negatives, so it should be balanced?
> 
> Also, sorry if you don't get the description of how the SiegeSlammer work, but yea. Take it as a Bazooka in the close range mode, and an Artillery in the far range mode. Both modes are slow to reload, but extremely damaging. The difference is the Artillery mode allows for shooting over walls and obstacles, but the shot then take time to reach its destination. 
> 
> And there we have it. I hope you been properly introduced to team Crescent Moon, and find its members enjoyable. I tried to give each one of them a personality. Though, perhaps Levy is still a bit lacking... Art too... Geh. whatever. There's still one last chapter before I wrap up this short story, then its going to be back to one-shots. I have no idea what to write for that (the one-shots), but I'll try to touch on the octolings (Eight, Charger and Co. etc.). No promises though.
> 
> As usual, feedback is loved and appreciated, on the work, chapter, or anything in general. I would reply to every comment if I can, no matter when it is posted. 
> 
> Until next time,  
Stay Fresh!


	7. Crescent Moon IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Announcement! 
> 
> OK not really, but just something I really wanted to say. 
> 
> Erm. I realized something, something about this fic. 
> 
> It's supposed to be a series of oneshots, but the entire thing is turning into a entire story by itself. Like, not just cause of the short story I'm doing now, but rather that as a whole I think the work is becoming a Chapter by chapter work instead of individual oneshots. 
> 
> I'm not quite sure what to do about this, for now I'm just going to continue as it is. But if there any feedback, please do leave some below. It would be very much appreciated, please. I really have no idea if I'm doing this correct. Thanks. 
> 
> Now, on with the show. 
> 
> \---
> 
> Timeline chart:
> 
> Dark before the dawn.  
Chapter 2  
Fragments.  
.  
Chapter 1  
Chapter 3 - Chapter 6  
.
> 
> Notes:
> 
> Italics represent thought.  
\--- represent change in location, POV, or time passing.

The training room was a mess of ink. The 4 members of Crescent Moon sat hunched around in a rough circle, covered in ink themselves.

Grins were all around, as they chatted about the practice match that they had just finished.

Shelly was still getting used to the SiegeSlammer, and had lost all but one of the five practice matches they had. But then again, it probably was Levy carrying her.

"Nnn..." Shelly stuck her tongue out partially as she fiddled around with the SiegeSlammer again, feeling up the shape and weight of the weapon, trying out the different angles to hold and aim it.

"So, how did you find it, Princess?" Art began.

"Hmm. It's powerful for sure, but I don't know if it’s for me..." Shelly trailed off as she continued with her fiddling.

_She typically wielded dualies, and was used to the fast paced, mobile playstyle. The SiegeSlammer, on the other hand, offered a slow, controlling playstyle instead. _

"Yup, thought as much. Eh, well at least you tried it," Art said as he stood, and stretched, "I'm going to head over to the vending machine real quick, anyone want stuff?"

"Cheerios!" Taito's hand shot up like a rocket.

"..."

"Drinks, genius," Art said after a moment of silence.

"Cheerios is a drink," Taito stuck out his lower lip and made a face, as if challenging anyone to say otherwise.

Shelly facepalmed.

"Diet Coke please," Levy said as she rolled her eyes at the antics of Taito.

"Cheerios!" Taito went again.

"DRINKS," Art hissed, before turning and nodding to Levy to acknowledge her order.

"Idiot non withstanding, anything else? Shelly?" Art asked the group, pointly ignoring his semi relative.

"I'm good, thanks," Shelly waved off Art with a smile, before returning to her tinkering.

"I'm going too," Taito announced, as he stood up as well, as he joined Art and began making for the vending machine.

5 minutes later, the duo returned. Art looked dead, barely holding on to a minute squid orange and Levy's diet Coke. Taito held a pack of Cheerios, and a wore a shit eating grin, as he popped piece after piece into his mouth.

Levy opened her beak to question the situation, but stopped when Art just gave a very tired shake of his head.

Both her and Shelly knew that look. It was the look Art wore after dealing with one too many of Taito's bullshit and whims. _This time, it probably had to do with somehow obtaining a packet of Cheerios from a drinks vending machine._

Art plopped down with a groan, before sliding Levy her drink.

Shelly raised an eyebrow at Art, looking up from her weapon, "You ok there?"

Art have her a weak nod, before rolling his eyes and jerking his head vaguely in Taito's direction, before dropping in a sigh.

_Right. They roughly got it then. _

"..."

"Ahem. Right. So shall we make plans for out next session?" Shelly broke the silence with her question.

"Sure. Let's get some games done. Are we using the Siege?" Levy joined into the conversation, nodding her head.

Taito nodded, taking a second away from grabbing more Cheerios to give a 'OK' sign before returning to munching on his snack.

"Whatever you say, Princess. As for the Siege… I’m not sure. So, 1pm again? I promise me and Taito will be on time this time," Art gave his agreement as well, before fixing Taito with a look.

"Furrre. Wheve arrr fevarr fatte!" Taito spoke through a mouthful of food, bits of saliva coated Cheerios spitting out from his beak.

"Eww. Watch it." Levy frowned and hastily made distance between her and Taito.

Shelly followed suit, opting to move her brand new SiegeSlammer first before scooting away herself.

"Nn. Righto. So, like, tomorrow, then," Shelly said as she moved, each word for every movement she made.

“Let’s hold off the decision on the SiegeSlammer for now. I may use it, but I’m going to need more practice first,” Shelly finished, nodding to Levy.

The group of three gave their assent once more, before they each started packing up for the day.

_The rental weapons would need to be returned to the training rack, and the place needed to be cleaned up. _

Levy started collecting the rental weapons while Art made for the training room control panel.

Keying in some commands, the training area gave a series of clicks before the ink on the ground started drying rapidly and the dummy targets all popped back up.

Shelly hoisted her SiegeSlammer, hauling it back to the carrier case it came in.

And that left Taito to clean the foodstuff, empty cans and the wrapper of his Cheerios.

"What are you guys doing after this?" Art broke the monotonous mood of cleaning up with his question.

"Study. I need to finish up my research paper," Levy groaned from where she was arranging the rental weapons back into the rack. "I swear, if the professor rejects my paper again, I'll shove the SiegeSlammer up his ass and squeeze the trigger," she huffed.

"Good luck? Anyways, me and Taito need to do some coursework as well. So it's the library for us," Art said, earning a whine from Taito across the hall.

"Cod. Not coursework, anything but coursework..."

"Shut it. You act like this all the time but still score better than me, " Art shot back.

"Ah, princess. What about you?" Art asked the last member of their team who hadn't replied.

"Work, " Shelly's answer was crisp and straight to the point, as she finished the fitting of the SiegeSlammer into the carrier, before standing.

"Oh. Work huh. Right, ok," Art spoke, before he fell silent.

The three of them, Art, Taito, and Levy, exchanged looks. _This 'work' that Shelly been involved in for the past month of so was starting to get troubling. It was always work. Not that working was bad per se, but... they couldn't shake the feeling it was something more than that. _

_Furthermore, over the last month, they had seen some changes in their leader. The obvious ones were that she had less time, or that she was tired due to work. But, Shelly had also before more paranoid, more cautious. She tried to hide it, but at times her eyes would dart around, with a foreign, almost scary, look in them. _

_Finally, the number 'four'. Shelly claimed it was her lucky number, and that they were four of them in Crescent Moon, so that was all that was. It sounded reasonable, but all three of them had suspicion that the number 'four' held more meaning than what Shelly was letting on. _

_Still, they wouldn't dig. They trusted Shelly, their leader. They trusted her to know that she could always tell them, no matter what, and they would be there for her. _

Done with the clean-up, Crescent Moon stood in the centre of the room. As one, they gave a final nod, before they each turned, and made for their separate paths.

_It was weird, all of them thought so, but it more or less had become tradition for all their meetings to end like so. _

_To reinforce the bonds of friendship, till all meets again. Well, again based on the physiological major Levy took, at least. _

\---

The room was dark, light entering as the door opened.

Now, it wasn't just any room, it was agent 0's personal lab and operations centre. It wasn't just any door either, it was a triple passcoded and retina scanning door. So the figure that entered the room was no doubt an agent.

"Agent 3. Hello there, weird for you to drop by," Zero greeted the visitor from where he was sprawled out over his recliner chair, fiddling around with some trinket.

Agent 3, as confirmed by Zero, stepped wordlessly forwards, closing the door behind her.

And yet again the room was enveloped in darkness, just a faint light coming from Zero's and Three's natural bioluminescence.

"Zero. I need... a favour," Three squeezed the words out past gritted teeth.

Her red eyes narrowed, turning into silts. _She hated asking a favour from Zero, or anyone in general, but she had no choice. She needed the particular set of skills Zero had. Primarily the hacking aspect. _

Red eyes flickered upwards to meet hers, both sets glowing slightly in the dim light.

"Certainly, my dea--ahem. I mean, Three," Zero quickly corrected himself mid-sentence after receiving a glare from said inkling.

"Agent 4. Shelly. I need revenge." Three was short, cutting straight to the point.

"..." Zero observed Three in the dim light. Inklings did have rather good night vision, given that their ancestors lived in the dark depths in the past, so Zero was more or less able to discern the look on Three's face.

Three was trying to look tough and angry, but under that was embarrassment and just a slight tad of mischievousness.

"Certainly... what do you have in mind?" Zero replied. _Let's go along with this now, it seemed... interesting,_ Zero thought. It_ never hurt to have just a bit more information on his fellow agents now_.

Three grinned, the whites of her fangs gleaming in the weak light. Her eyes seemingly glowed a brighter hue of red, if even possible.

Zero suppressed a shiver. _Cod. What was he getting himself into? That expression Three wore... it shouldn't be allowed to exist. _

"Oh. I have an idea," Three grinned. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MM HMM. I wonder what Three got planned now, hmm?
> 
> Honestly? I wrote the last part before everything else, and had a good laugh at what I planned for Three to do. Of course, you don't know that yet, but I promise I'll try make it good. Try. I have the idea in my head, but yea, I'll try to present it in a way that is enjoyable.
> 
> Other then that ending, the chapter was mostly slice of life between Crescent Moon. Its a wrap up to whatever I introduced at the start of the short story, with a bit of humor thrown in. Erm. Do you find Taito, or really any of the 3 new characters to be annoying, or lacking in any way? Do leave some feedback if so, thank you. Why did I arrow Taito? Erm. Reasons.
> 
> But yeah. Again, the ending sets up another event to take place in the future, which would involve both Zero and Three.
> 
> Aaaannnnnd.... Ok. I really want to say something, but I think it going to be toooo spoilery. Just. AH. I really shouldn't. JUST. AH. Yeah. 
> 
> Both Zero and Three have red eyes.
> 
> AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. 
> 
> Ok, I have no idea what I was thinking when I wrote that. But I always pretend I'm having an actual conversation whenever I write these author notes? So I don't edit or delete parts I already typed. (other than to spell check). Like, legit, I always kept everything I type in these notes as they were, and just typed whatever I want to say. It feels more genuine as a conversation that way? I hope?
> 
> Anyways. As always, feedback on the work, idea, or chapter, or anything is appreciated and loved. I would reply to every comment when I can.
> 
> Until next time,  
Stay Fresh!


	8. Secrets of the past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before everything ever began, join agent 0 as he prepares to undertake his mission of infiltrating octarian society as Creta.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline chart:
> 
> Chapter 7  
.  
.  
.  
Dark before the dawn.  
Chapter 2  
Fragments.  
.  
Chapter 1  
Chapter 3 - Chapter 6  
. 
> 
> Notes:
> 
> Italics represent thoughts.  
\--- represent change in location, POV, or time passing.

_People make mistakes. This was an undistributed fact. Perhaps one may argue that the saying should be that sentient beings make mistakes. _

_Humans and Inklings, one and the same. Inhabiting the same world. The mistakes made by the Humans gave birth to the world in which they stayed now. But it wasn’t as if they didn’t make mistakes too._

_People make mistakes. Some mistakes that would be brushed off and forgotten. But yet other mistakes that would haunt them for their lives, forever._

The boy lay in bed, and looked up into the moonlit sky. _Mistakes. He had made mistakes in his life, yet none compared to that which crawled at his soul now._

_He had lost everything. His emotions, his love, his sanity. All gone. Over the years they had slowly come back to him. Yet in that moment, time immortal, he had made a mistake. A terrible mistake._

Screams echoed in his mind. Scream of hate. His parents. Blood stains. Praise. Scorn. Purple. Black. Tears falling. His cries. His screams. A hand reaching for him. Winning the spelling contest. Red eyes.

It was all at once. Moments from every part of his life, random, and all at once.

The boy looked into the sky. He felt nothing, no more.

Darkness came, and clouded his heart, his soul. Slowly, feelings and pains and worries came back to him. Emotions once more flowed into him, giving life to the puppet body he was.

And the boy sank back away into the depths of the darkness. And Agent 0 rose from the bed.

\---

“Nnnn…” Zero clutched his head, crouching in pain.

_It always hurt whenever he finished a proper meditative detox session. _He would let go of everything, his emotions and thoughts, before categorising everything and fitting it all together back again.

It took practice to properly detach one’s sense of self from the physical body._ Even with his intellect and mental strength, it took him a good 3 years to reach the stage where he was now._

_Well, it still hurt his head to have everything back in at once. _Memories, long forgotten, were flashing through once more, all at once. Within the span of a single second, years of experience rushed through his mind._ So of course it hurt. _

_There were benefits, of course._ His mind was now well ready and organized to properly receive new information. Primary information he was due to get from the upcoming mission. The mission of a high key infiltration of octarian society. Not just a research facility of military installation, but one that would place him in a direct loop of everything going on for the octarians.

_There was no better opportunity. Agent 3 had just defeated the leader of the octarians, DJ Octavio himself. And now the entire command structure was a mess. Prefect for someone to sneak in._

Having finished his complete meditative session, he was ready now. The only other thing was a proper name for his disguise, but then again, that was relatively simple.

Zero stood. His head still throbbed, a tad, but was more or less fine now. He reached for the octarian gear hung in front of him.

Quickly changing, he soon looked the exact image he wanted. _Except for the tentacles, of course, they were still that of an inkling._

_Well, time to rectify that,_ Zero smiled, as he concentrated and controlled the ink flow into his tentacles. They began morphing, budging, shrinking and extending, until they resembled that of an octoling. Some final touches of fake tentacle suckers and body paint completed his look. _Or rather, her look._

The image in the full length mirror cocked their head. They looked exactly like a typical octoling. Perhaps a little lacking in the chest area, but other than that, they looked for all the world just like a female octoling.

They smiled. _Now, they needed a name._

They tapped their lips and hummed in thought. _What would be a good feminine name?_

_‘Celine’_

The name flashed across their mind in an instant. They froze. _It was a female name, all right, but no. Never. They would never use that name._

“Ce..Cre…Creta” They spoke, trying out another name which started with the same letter. _Hmm. It would do, yes._

_‘Creta’_

_Yes. That would them now._ They shook their head to clear it of the past. _They were Creta, now._

\---

A movement caught his attention. An octoling emerged from the shack.

He swiftly pivoted his body, cane whipping out, but not pointing it directly at the approaching octoling yet.

“Captain Cuttlefish. I would ask how I look, but… it seems I already have your… answer,” The figure smiled as they approached.

Cuttlefish sighed, nodding and lowering his cane.

“Agent 0, I must admit it is an extremely compelling disguise. If not for your warning, I may have shot you on sight. Instincts and all,” Cuttlefish replied, as he corrected his posture from a rather awkward half turn.

“Ha! Certainly. That’s the point now, yes?” Zero gave a little laugh.

Moving over, he began picking up the last few pieces of gear he would need for his mission. His trusty communicator, various electronic bugs, and his weapon of choice; a modified Hero brush.

Cuttlefish watched him go. The boy moved in fluid motions, slotting everything away nicely. Cuttlefish looked, and could not help but see another before him. One that moved in the same manner, and had undertaken an almost similar mission before.

“Zero. Please, do be careful,” Cuttlefish said, in an almost tired voice. _It was a dangerous mission, not to mention long. Furthermore, he was still slightly concerned about the mental state of his one agent. The boy claimed he was fine and all, but he had a dreary feeling it was not so._

“Captain, please. I would be,” Zero turned and grinned at him, before catching the look in his eyes.

Zero paused, before continuing, “Captain. I … I’m fine now. That of the past no longer binds me.”

“…”

A moment of silence, before Cuttlefish nodded.

“Of course, Agent. Best of luck with your mission, do visit when you can.”

Zero simply grinned once more, before leaping off, into the Canyon below.

Cuttlefish watched him go, and once again could not help but see another, another before Zero.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is actually a rather ... simple chapter, if you ask me. There's like ... nothing. Like, reading it, you know there's something you are reading, but at the same time, feel like there's nothing in the end. AT least, that's how I felt after re-reading this.
> 
> This whole chapter kinda just covered Agent 0 as a character just a bit more, and captain cuttlefish as well, i guess. There's a bit of hinting here and there, but nothing much really, unless you are somehow an absolute genius. Ehhhh. I actually started writing this in a rather bad mood. not bad bad per se, just a tad upset and slightly sad. But eh. 
> 
> BTW. It slightly implied here, but yes, Zero does have just a tad of multiple personalities. I always wanted to go with this tangent, and if you read my previous works, specifically DbtD (the part where Zero has a mental breakdown), its quite evident there there's multiple personalities within him as well. It not really bad bad, but I hope it adds another layer to his character.
> 
> Agent Zero as an OC is mirrored as a feminine version of the author, myself. So the whole thing with mental issues.... well ... I like writing dark stuff as well... so yea. Go figure. HehhehehHEHheHehE HaHAHAHAH. The JoKEr is born!!!!!!1 The clown PRInce of Crime iS IN tE ToWN!!!!!
> 
> JKJK. ITS A JOKE. 
> 
> Ok I'm mentally sane, OK? Like legit. I'm legit mentally sane, its a joke. I just like to write dark stuff.
> 
> Unto the story. Erm. I know I kinda said I would do a chapter on Eight or Charger and co. But I lied. Yea. Maybe next time. 
> 
> If you are curious about anything in the story, do leave a question below in the comments, or telegram group if you want a faster reply. I know there probably alot of random stuff I'm throwing around, which may be confusing, but! I would explain it, in time, I promise.
> 
> Also also, The beginning of this chapter is heavily inspired by the start of the 'End of the World' arc from the manga 'Hayate no Gotoku!' SO yea, that's a thing. 
> 
> Anyways. Feedback on the work or idea or anything is appreciated and loved and cared for and enjoyed and ... ok my english synonyms suck. Righto, anyways I would reply to every comment when I can!
> 
> Until next time,  
Stay Fresh!


End file.
